Device for recording the paths of ships.



H. ANSGHiTTZ-KAEMPPB.

DEVICE FOR RECORDING THE PATHS OF SHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9, 1910. 1,069,842, Patented Aug. 12, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WNW 5555. W

Arrow/gr;

H. ANSCHI TTZ-KAEMPFE. DEVICE FOR RECORDING THE PATHS OF SHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 0, 1910.

Patnted Aug.12,1913.

ATTUEWEYS ponents being then again drawn on UNITED ISTATESZPATENT OFFICE.

HERMANN .ANSCI-Ifi'TZ-KAEMPFE, on NEUMU'I-ILEN, NEAR K-IEL; GERMANY.

nnvIcnron nnoonmne THE PATHS or snrrs.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 12,1913.

Application filed September 9, R210. Serial No. 581,201.

T 0 all whom it'may concern Be it known that I, HERMANN Ansorriirz KAEMPFE, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at Heikendorfer VVeg 9, in'

Neumiihlen, near Kiel, Germany, have in-' vented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to Devices for Recording the Paths of Ships, .of which the following is a specification. i

This invention relates to a device for antomatically recording the path traveled by a ship, from the indication of the speed of traveling and direction of traveling at the moment. The distance traveled by the ship is determined in the well known manner, for instance by the revolutions of thepropellers or by the log, while the course steered is indicated by a magnetor gyroscopic compass, or still. better, by a compass transmission developing suflicient rotary movement.

The working of the device is based on the resolution or splitting up of the path of the ship by means of a spherical surface into two components, 9 one of which coincides with the N. S. line and the other with the E.lV., line, and on the resultant of thecoma map by means ofa writing device. 1

. In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 --(which is an elevation) and Fig. 2 (which i is a planlshow the device diagrammatically, whileFig. 3 shows a construction of a complete'installation embodying the device shown in Figs.- 1 and 2 and including a gyroscope-compass-transmission as well as an electric transmission for transmitting the revolutions of the propeller shaft. Fign 4 shows diagrammatically the electrieal system of the electrical receiving device'which serves to rotate theball in correspondence with the rotation of the propeller shaft. Fig. 5 shows diagrammatically and on an enlarged scale the transmitting device by means of which the several receiving de- I vlces are controlled.

A ball 1 (Figs. if and 2 is rotatably mounted on a spindle 2 in bearings 3 and is driven in any desired .manner 'ina given ratio to the speed of'the ships propeller shaft. On the surface of the said ball, roll two wheels 4: and 5 arranged at an angle of 90 relatively to each other. Their planes intersect therefore, at a right angle. The wheels are mounted with their spindles 6 and 7 in arms 8 and 9 which are both secured to a rotatable spindle 10, which is shifted by a compass card. The wheels are pressed by the resiliency of the arms 8 and 9 or by some other suitable spring, wit-h a suflicient pressure against the surface of the ball so as to insure their'being driven by friction with the latter.

The speed of rotation of the ball, as all-- ready stated, is in a constant ratio to the speed of the ship. Its circumferential speed,

that is to say the speed of movement of individual points of the surface, decreases however from the equator (the circle of intersection of a central line imagined to be,

passing at a right angle to the axis of rotation 2 through the balls) to the poles (the are in the position shown in vFig. l, the I wheel4 will have the highestspeed, while the wheel 5 the minimum speed orzero. If the spindle 10 with the arms 8 and 9 is turned by the compass card,-the speeds of the wheels 4 and 5 will be'altered in accordance with the law of sines; the speed of. the

wheels: will decrease, while that of the wheel 5 will increase. If the ball is arranged in such manner that its equator co' incides"with"or is parallel to the mid-ship line, the speed of rotationof the wheels will be in proportion to the N. S. and E. W. speed of the ship. For recording or marking the course of the ship, it is therefore "merely necessary to move a recording or writing device in accordance'with the speed of the two wheels at any moment. This can. be effected for instance by means of an electric transmission device which moves a writing pencil on the coordinates of a writing surface. I

stated an installation embodying the device just described. The propeller shaft 11 suitably supported on the. ships frame 12 carries parts of an electrical transmitting device 13. This device consists, in the example shown, of four slip rings 50, 51, 52 and 53' A q Fig. 3 shows by way of example as already material such as ebonite, for example, for

the other 240 of arc. The three rings are mounted so that the metallic segments are successively, peripherally olfset by 120,

each segmentis electrically connected with the metallic ring 50. As shaft 11 rotates,

- therefore, current from the source 58 passes through spring 54 to ring 50 and successively through the segments of rings 51, "52 and 53 to springs 55, 56 and 57. Said springs 55, 56 and 57 are electrically connected by wires of the cable 15 with the receiver 14. This receiver comprises (Fig. 4) three pair of electro-magnets, viz., 59-59', 6060, and 6161' uniformly spaced about an armature 62 fixed to axle 16. Each of these magnet pairs has one end of its windings connected with one of the springs 55, 56 and 57 while a common return circuit 63 joins the remaining ends of each winding to the generator58. As shaft 11 rotates, therefore, each magnet pair will be successively excited and the armature 62 will rotate in correspondence with the rotating field thus established, with a speed which, for the particular arrangement shown, will be one-half that of shaft 11. By altering the number of' magnet pairs and the number of segments of the transmitter device, the ratio between the speeds of the receiver 14 and the shaft 11 may be correspondingly, altered. On the spindle 16 is mounted a toothed wheel 17 engaging with a second tobthed wheel 18 keyed to the spindle forming the axis 'of rotation 2 of theball 1. The spindle forming the axis of the. ball will therefore be rotated in a given ratio to the speed of the ships propeller shaft 11.

The spindle 10 carrying the two arms 8 and 9 with the rolling wheels 4 and 5 is-rota'tably mounted in a frame 19 secured, according to the diagrammatic illustration in the drawing, to the bearings 3 of the ball spindle2. The spindle 10 which carries at the upper end a compass card, is driven from the receiver 21 of any compass transmission device, say by means of toothed wheel gear 22, 23. A compass (magnetic or gyroscopic compass) is marked 24 and is connected to the receiver 21 by means of a cable 25. The construction of the compass transmission itself can be anydesired, the only condition is that the transmission device should move the card 20 of the subsidiarycompass with the spindle 10, and therefore with the arms 8 and 9, exactly in agreement with the main compass 24.

The speed of rotation of the wheels 4 and 5 at any moment must be transmitted to a writing or some other indicating or recording device. In the construction illustrated, this is again effected by means of electric transmission device. The spindles 6 and 7 of the wheels 4 and 5.carry electric transmitters 26. One of these is shown on an enlarged scale in Fig. 5. The construction is similar to that above described for the transmitting arrangement attached to shaft 11. The spindle 6 carries four slip rings 70, 71, 72, 73, the ring 70 being metallic, while the remaining rings comprise 120 metallic segments successively ofi'set peripherally by 120, the remaining are of each ring being filled in with insulation. Springs-74, 75, 76 and 77 slidably engage the four slip rings and are connected, spring 74 to one pole by current source 79 (which may be identical with source 58) and springs 75, 76 and 77 by means of a cable 27 to three metallic slip rings 29 onshaft 10. These last named slip rings 29have sliding contact respectively with three springs electrically connected by a cable 31 with the receiver 33. Receiver 33. corresponds in its construction to the receiver shown in Fig. 4 and above described. Connections coming from springs 76, 76 and 77 are connected with magnet pairs 59, 59, 60, 60, 61, 61, whilea common return conductor 63 is connected through the cable 31 with the remaining pole of generator 79. The armature of receiver 33 is thereby caused to rotate ata speed proportional to that of wheel 4 in exactly the same manner as has already been explained with reference to the armature of receiver 14; The movement of spindle 7 is transferred to the rings of receiver '34 by a system identical with thatjust described for spindle 6.

The receivers 33 and 34 are mounted on a bed-plate 35, the receiver 34 being rigidly secured to it while the receiver 33 .is mounted in a transversely adjustable manner. The receiver spindles are connected to worms 36 and 37, the worm 37 carries a nut 38'to which is secured the worm 36 arranged at a right angle to the worm 37. If, therefore, the worm 37 is rotated by the re 'ceiver 34, the worm 36 with the nut 38 and also the receiver motor 33 will be shifted on the bed-plate35. Parallel movement is insured by means of rails 39 .of1 which are guided on the one hand thereceiver 33 by means of the wheels 40, and on the other hand the nut 38. Finally on the worm 36 is mounted a nut 41 with apencil 42 resting on a writing surface 43.

When the installation is working, the

worms 36 and37 are driven in an exact ratio to the speed of the'wheels 4, and 5, and will therefore shift the pencil 42 exactly in accordance with the ships speed at the moment in the N. S. and E. W. direcing mechanisms 44 and 45 which for instance sum up all the revolutions in the clockwise direction while deducting all the revolutions in the opposite direction. As the proportion of the revolutions of the 'ball 1 to those mechanism could be used direct.v for deter-' mining the position of the ship at the moment without a writing device. By calculating from the rate of transmission, the new position of the ship can-be found at any moment of the map, namely by markilTg down from the original position of the ship one distance given by the counting mechanism 44, for instance as a line parallel to the meridian, and by drawing at the end of the said line the other distance indicated by the counting mechanism 43, in a direction parallel to the latitude. It is immaterial what evolutions of the ship may have taken place in the meantime, as all the courses are always resolved into these two components. The two counting mechanism 44 and 45 could also be mounted on the receiver motors 33 and 34, their indications being used in the same way.

' by Letters Patent is:" P

1. A device for automatlcally recording a ships path, comprising a ball, means for rotating the same in proportion to the ships speed, means engaging with the surface of said ,ball for resolving the direction oftravel of the ship into, two components of ,fixed,

direction relatively to the compass card, and means for subsequently findiiig' the resultant of said components and recording it on a writing surface.

2. A devicefor automatically recordin a ships path, comprising a ball, means %or rotating the same in'proportion to the ships speed, two friction wheels, arranged at an angle of 90 relatively to each other, rolling on the surface of said ball, a direct-ion indicator adapted to adjust said wheelsrelatively to the equator of the ball, means adapted to write upon a suitable surface, and means, controlled by said-\wheels, for

moving said writlng means in two directlons fixed relatively to the compass card.

3; A device for automatically recording a ships path, comprising a ball, means for rotating thesame in proportion to the ships speed, two friction Wheels, arranged at an angle of 903 relatively .to each other, rolling on the surface of said ball, a direction indicator adapted to adjust said wheels relatively to the equator of the ball, means byone wheel in the N. S. direction and by the other Wheel in the direction.

4.. A device for automatically recording a ships path, comprising a ball, means for rotating the same in proportion to the ships speed, two friction wheels, arranged at an angle of 90 relatively to each other, rolling on the surface of said ball, a direction indicator adapted to adjust said wheels rela-, tively' to the equator of the ball, means adapted to write upon a suitable surface, two worms arranged to respectively move said writing means in directions perpendicular to one another, one of saidworms being further adapted to move the other worm parallel to itself, and electrical transmitter devices for rotating said worms in correspondence with the speed ofrotation of said wheels.

ships path, comprising a ball, means for rotating the same in proportion to the ships speed, two friction wheels, arranged at an.

angle of 90 relatively to each, other, rolling on the surface of said ball, a direction indicator adapted to adjust said wheels relatively to the equator of the ball, means adapted to write upon a suitable'surface, two worms arranged at an angle to each other and adapted tomove said writing means in two directions 5. 6.,N. Sand E. W.,

andone of said worms'being adapted to move the other worm in a parallel direction, 4

,electric transmission devices for moving said worms in correspondence with the speed of rotation of said wheels, and a countin mechanism connected to each friction whee for adding the revolutions in one direction and deducting those in the opposite direction, for the purposes specified.

'6. A device for automatically recording a ships path, comprising a ball adapted to be rotated proportionally to the ships speed, means engaging with the surface of said ball for resolving the direction of travel of the said ship into two components of fixed direction; relatively to the compass card, andmeahs for subsequently recording the resultant of said components upon a writing surface.

7. A device for automatically recording a ships'path, comprising a ball {means for rotating the same in proporti on to the ships speed, two friction wheels arranged at an angle of 90 relativel to each other, rolling on the surface of sai ball, a direction indicator adapted to adjust said wheels relatively to the equator of said ball, means adapted to write upon a suitable surface, a worm connected to said Writing'means for moving it along said Worm, and a second Worm connected to said Writing means for for moving the latter parallel toitself, and electric transmission devices for moving said worms in correspondence with the speed of rotation of the said Wheels.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed 13 my name this 24th day of August 1910 in the presence of the two subscribing wit nesses. I

, HERMANN ANSCHUTZ-KAEMPFE. Witnesses:

JULIUS R6PKE, VIKTOR P. ALMGREN. 

